1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Taeho and Minister for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Nigel Adams had a virtual meeting on the afternoon of November 10, and discussed in depth ways to enhance economic cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the UK after the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) and the end of the transition period as well as ways to work together in the international community on global issues including COVID-19 response and climate change.

o The vice ministerial-level virtual meeting came after the two phone conversations held in May to discuss ways for bilateral cooperation in responding to COVID-19.

2. First, the two sides discussed ways for cooperation in joint preparation for the end of the transition period scheduled for late this year, and agreed to continue to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries even after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

o Vice Minister Lee stressed the importance of the ROK-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to maintain the continuity of the ROK-UK trade relations after the end of the transition period. Minister of State Adams hoped to continue close cooperation between the two countries to develop bilateral economic and trade relations in a stable and consistent manner.

3. In addition, the two sides noted with appreciation that the two countries have cooperated in addressing various global issues in the international community, and particularly agreed to expand health cooperation, including strengthening the global health governance, based on close cooperation in information sharing on COVID-19 and development of vaccines and treatments.

o Furthermore, as the ROK and the UK will host the P4G Summit and the 26^th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) next year, respectively, the two sides shared the expectation that the two countries will be able to contribute to increasing the international community’s efforts to respond to climate change.

4. The vice ministerial-level virtual meeting served as an opportunity for the two countries to share their views on various issues including ways for bilateral cooperation after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and to reaffirm their commitment to further solidify the foundation for bilateral economic cooperation and co-prosperity.

o The two sides agreed to hold the ROK-UK Senior Economic Dialogue (SED) at an appropriate time based on the outcome of the discussion in this meeting.